Net metering ends in 2027: what changes and what it means for you

If you have solar panels, on sunny moments you often generate more electricity than you are using at that time. That electricity flows to the grid. Under the net metering scheme you may offset this exported electricity on your annual statement against the electricity you take from the grid at other times. You then pay only for the difference.

For the part you are allowed to offset, what you take and what you export are settled against each other. That is why, for net metering itself, it mattered little when you used your solar power. Feed-in costs can mean that using your own power directly already makes a financial difference before 2027.

Your smart or digital meter records two things: how much electricity you take from the grid and how much you export. With net metering your supplier subtracts the exported amount from the amount you took. You pay the electricity price, energy tax and VAT over the difference.

The statutory net metering scheme ends on 1 januari 2027. From that moment you can no longer offset exported electricity against your use. For the electricity you export you receive a feed-in compensation from your energy supplier. That compensation will usually be lower than the total price you pay for electricity taken from the grid.

According to the Dutch government the feed-in compensation must be minimaal 50% van het kale leveringstarief until 2030. The bare supply rate is the price of the electricity itself, without energy tax and VAT. You do pay those taxes on electricity you take from the grid after net metering ends; power you generate and use directly never becomes part of that.

Technically nothing changes: electricity you do not use yourself still flows to the grid. What changes is the settlement. Instead of offsetting, you receive a payment per exported kilowatt-hour (kWh). How high that payment is differs per supplier and contract, so compare the conditions carefully.

To be able to export, you have needed a smart or digital meter since 2026, according to ACM ConsuWijzer. If you still have an old rotating-disc meter, your grid operator will contact you about replacing it.

Separately from net metering, many energy suppliers charge feed-in costs (terugleverkosten). That is something different from the feed-in compensation you receive. The ACM has established that suppliers can incur extra costs through procurement, imbalance and the net metering scheme, among other things. They may reflect those costs in their rates, as long as the rates are not unreasonable. The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) supervises this.

Read more in our article Feed-in costs: what are they and how do they work?

From 2027 exported electricity will generally earn less than the total price of the electricity you would otherwise have to buy from the grid. The more of your solar power you use directly — or later from storage — the less electricity you need to buy and the less you depend on the feed-in compensation.

• Exporting brings less benefit

  The payment for exported electricity is usually lower than the price you pay for electricity.

• Direct use becomes more important

  Electricity you use while the sun is shining is electricity you do not have to buy.

• Storage opens new options

  With storage you can use electricity generated during the day later on.

A home battery stores electricity generated during the day so you can use it later yourself, in the evening for example. With smart energy management the system can also take your consumption into account and, on a dynamic contract, energy prices.

A home battery is not equally worthwhile for every home. Your consumption, how much you export, your connection and your energy contract together determine whether it makes sense — and which capacity fits. See also How does a home battery work?

The statutory net metering scheme ends even if your current contract continues after that date. Your supplier must process use and export before and from 1 January 2027 separately. Also check what your contract says about the feed-in compensation and feed-in costs, and under which conditions the supplier may change those terms.

There are several ways to prepare for the end of net metering:

• Map out how much you export

  Check your annual statement or your supplier's app to see how much electricity you export.

• Shift use to sunny hours

  Run the dishwasher or the washing machine while the sun is shining, for example.

• Compare energy contracts

  Look at the feed-in compensation and at any feed-in costs.

• Look at storage or smart management

  Find out whether a home battery or smart control suits your situation.